LOOKING FOR THE BLESSED HOPE AND GLORIOUS APPEARING OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST (TITUS 2:13)

Friday, May 11, 2012

War is Coming

War is coming to the Middle East
soon! A casual observer would reply “What’s new?” In a way he would be correct.War is the rule not the exception in that
part of the world.However, this is a
completely different war, and we need to be ready for it.

On the night of May 7-8, 2012,
Prime Minister Netanyahu forged a national unity government when he managed to
bring Kadima, the main opposition party, into his ruling coalition.This was completely unexpected because hours
before the Knesset had been discussing a bill calling for early elections that
Netanyahu was sure to win.Instead, he
called off the elections and announced the new coalition that gave his
administration an unprecedented 78% of the seats in the Knesset.Including Kadima in the coalition meant that
Netanyahu had compromised in some points such as the law that exempts
ultra-orthodox Jews from military service.Why did he do this, rather than wait until September and win by a
comfortable margin?

May 1967 was the only other time
in the short history of the Jewish state when a national unity government was formed.
Egypt had kicked the U.N. peacekeepers out of the Sinai, blockaded the Straits
of Tiran, and signed a pact with Jordan. Syria was aiming for the destruction of
Israel.Israel launched a preemptive
strike on the Egyptian air force on June 5.The war that followed, the Six Day War, was brief and ended with an
Israeli victory.Furthermore, Israel captured
the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East
Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

The formation of yet another
national unity government very strongly suggests that Israel is seriously
preparing for war.Everybody expects an
attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, followed by either a direct attack
from Iran or through its proxies, Syria and Hezbollah.The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be
glad to help.

Can war be averted?A quick look at some Old Testament prophecies
suggest that this war has been appointed and cannot, or will not, be
avoided.I am talking about Isaiah 10,
Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38.

Isaiah 10 is a prophecy about
the Lord’s judgment of Assyria.At its
peak, Assyria included modern eastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, western
Iran, Kuwait and Egypt.In other words,
it is Israel versus Israel’s modern day foes.

Psalm 83
speaks of an upcoming war in which the nations that immediately surround Israel
will form a confederacy with the intention of “cutting them off from being a nation that the name of
Israel may be remembered no more.” As a result, Israel will gain sovereignty
over much of the Middle East and become one of the wealthiest nations of the
world.

Finally, the
peace and prosperity that Israel will enjoy following the Psalm 83 war will
lead to the war of Gog and Magog, as described in Ezekiel 38.Most scholars believe that it will be an attempted invasion of Israel
lead by Russia accompanied by a number of Muslim nations.It will have an Apocalyptic ending with the
Lord raining down great hailstones, fire and brimstone on the forces attacking
Israel.

It
is obvious that Ezekiel 38 must follow Psalm 83, but it is not so clear which
war will come first. Regardless, it is my belief that Israel’s preparations for
war are just part of the events appointed in the prophetic calendar.War will come, because to the best of my
knowledge, the Lord says that it will!

As
a side comment, there are other signs that P.M. Netahyahu is in the center of
God’s will.Last November President of France Nicolas
Sarkozy was heard over an open microphone saying about P.M. Netanyahu, "I
can't stand to see him anymore, he's a liar." Where is Sarkozy today?